Using fingermark powders and lifters on rhino horn to support anti-poaching efforts

Wildlife poaching and the trade of wildlife items is a large area of illegal business that is alleged to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars. However, wildlife forensics remains an understudied field even though the consequences of poaching are catastrophic and can lead to the spread of zoonotic disease and a decrease in biodiversity. Even though fingermark analysis is cost-effective, easy to deploy in the field and has a long history of securing criminal convictions in court, wildlife forensics is mainly limited to DNA-based techniques. Rhinos are one of the most trafficked animals in the world, with some species being hunted to near extinction. To reduce rhino poaching and tackle the trade of rhino horn, this research used various fingerprint powders, including standard and fluorescent powders, to visualise fingermarks deposited on rhino horn. Eight fingermark powders were tested, including four traditional powders (i.e., magneta-flake, aluminium, and reduced scale black and white powders) and four fluorescent powders (i.e., red-and-green-fluorescent powders, along with Foster + Freeman's fpNatural® 1, and fpNatural® 2,). The rhino horn sample used in this study was cut in half, and latent fingermarks were enhanced on both the rough and smooth sides of the rhino horn. Lifting tape and black gelatine were employed to lift enhanced fingermarks, and fingermarks were photographed on Foster + Freeman's DCS®4 (for standard powders) and DCS®5 (for fluorescent powders). Black gelatine was found to be significantly superior to tape in preliminary trials, and therefore, only black gelatine was used to lift powdered fingermarks after initial experiments. This study highlights that metallic powders (namely aluminium and magneta flake), and all fluorescent powders are effective options to enhance latent fingermarks on rhino horn, yielding marks suitable for comparison and search on fingermark databases. These fingermarks can be lifted using black gelatine without significant loss of fingermark detail. Due to the rough nature of the surface, fingermarks were significantly inferior in quality on the rough outer surface than the smooth inner cut section of the rhino horn. The recommendations made in this study can have an impact on the illegal wildlife trade when deployed in the field, providing more tools to assist front line anti-poaching agents and leading to an increase in convictions.